Ministry Gift of a Giver

Definition:

Someone who has the ability to acquire great wealth and material possessions and give them away for the sake of the gospel. Givers are people who have great spiritual discernment on the proper use of money, and can rightly assess the legitimate material needs in a church. They know what resources are required in a given circumstance to make success occur.

Biblical References:

• Romans 12:8
• 2 Corinthians 8:1-4
• Acts 4:36-37

Typical Ministry Characteristics:

1. Highly skilled at accumulating material resources. Great ability to earn great wealth, manage business organizations, and invest wisely. Accomplish things in a practical and efficient manner. Remain largely in the workplace, earning money for the financial benefit of God's kingdom.
2. Know how lo invest in the right ministries. Able to sense the priority of the Holy Spirit when supporting various projects. Discern how much financial support is actually needed by a ministry to accomplish its mission. Do not tolerate any abuse or misuse of money.
3. Remain anonymous when supporting others. Has a genuine desire and calling to assist people materially in support of God's plans and is not motivated by personal recognition. Astute managers of people and understand the ramifications of personal publicity.
4. Very pragmatic in their ministry approach. Display a straight forward communication style, has a nuts and bolts aptitude, is good at understanding details, and knows how to get things done. Use the same approach in a church as in a business setting.
5. Supernatural ability to give away wealth. Do not experience the fears or concerns that normally accompany such an action. Can turn over significant amounts of financial resources to the work of the Lord without feeling any loss or concern. Feel a divine anointing to make money and give it away.

General Information

The Greek word for giver is meiadidomi, which literally means to "give over" or "share something". It is found only five times in Scripture (Luke 3:11, Rom. 1:11, Rom. 12: 8. Eph. 4:28, 1 Thes. 2:8)), and is always used to describe a person sharing material or spiritual resources with someone else.

The Example Of Cornelius

A good example of a giver in Scripture is Cornelius (Acts 10:1-8). He was very successful in a secular profession, and as a result, had accumulated a great deal of wealth. The Bible indicates he was generously and cheerful in contributing financially to those that were in need. He was also a man of much prayer and received direct revelation from the Lord.

Successful In The Secular World

Givers are people who are divinely called to acquire and share material resources. Those with this ministry gift have as much interest in earning money as they do in giving it away. Most often, these are individuals out in the secular world accomplishing great things in the workplace. But their efforts and success are actually for the sake of the church1. They are accumulating resources that can be used for Christian ministry.

Give Money Liberally

Everyone in the body of Christ is called to give liberally, but those with the gift of giving have a supernatural ability to commit major resources to the work of the Lord. Some of those with this calling, such as Stanley Tarn, have given as much as 80% to 90% of their money away to various Christian endeavors. Givers do not consider how much of their money they should give away to the Lord, but how much of Lord's money they should keep! Like Cornelius, they tend to walk in close communication with the Lord and have a strong ability to sense where the Holy Spirit desires to provide key financial resources in support of churches and individuals.

A Task Oriented Ministry

Givers are generally very task oriented people. They are the Martha's in the kingdom of God. Givers know how to get things done and tend to manage themselves project by project. These individuals generally acquire self-esteem through their performance and can struggle at times with being a workaholic. They may also show a great amount of impatience with people who are incompetent or perform poorly. These traits are what make them particularly successful in the workplace